Page 101 of Fair Catch

I catch Oakley’s eyes widen comically in the rearview mirror. “You’ll dowhat?What does that even mean?”

Biting my lip, I do my best to keep from smiling, but the second my best friend turns to look at me with a massive, shit-eating grin on his face, I’m done for, and we both burst into hysterics.

Stomach-cramping, breath-gasping laughter that makes no sign of stopping.

“Am I the only one who’s lost here?” Oakley asks slowly, eyes darting between the road and the three of us.

“Who knows what’s going on with these two,” Kason answers before Q or I can. But the death glare he’s aiming at me says this conversation is far,farfrom over, once we’re somewhere private.

Quinton surprisingly drops it, though not before I catch him fighting against another round of laughter that would surely have Oakley thinking we’ve lost our minds—and have Kason ready to strangle me before we even make it to the city.

Of course, from the way he’s staring at me, gaze full of hunger and promise, I’m not entirely sure if strangling is the thing on his mind.

I give him an innocent look before whispering, “What?”

“You’resogetting payback for telling him about that,” he threatens before leaning over and brushing a whisper of a kiss over my lips. One that’s soft and far too fleeting for my liking.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say, though I know my ridiculous grin would beg to differ. “But don’t worry, you can have whatever you want after knocking Q’s ego down a peg.”

“Good to know. I’ll make a habit of it the whole time we’re here, then.”

Arching a brow, I murmur, “Do that, and we won’t be leaving the bedroom.”

“I have no problem wracking up some IOUs.” A seductive grin on his lips, he softly adds, “As long as you pay them back. With interest.”

Thanks to our delays this morning, Quinton and Oakely don’t have much time to do anything other than drop us at their condo before heading to the rink, meaning Kason and I are on our own when it comes to entertaining ourselves this afternoon.

Of course, that means I have to pry Kason away from the massive windows showcasing the Manhattan skyline long enough for us to actuallyleavetheir condo.

“Anything you wanna do in the city today?” I ask, stepping up behind him. My arms wrap around his waist, and I press my lips to the spot between his shoulder blades, then the side of his neck. “We could go ice skating in Central Park, or hit one of the bajillion art museums. Maybe a Broadway show? We could be super touristy and do the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty?”

Kason’s eyes brighten with amusement as he wraps his arms around my shoulders. “Look at you, wanting to go out in public. Who are you, and what have you done with my boyfriend?”

Fuck.

Just when I think I’m getting used to him using that word, the stumbling my heart does proves otherwise.

“You’ve never been to the city, and I’m not gonna let my anti-social side ruin your first time here,” I reason, arching a brow. “That’s all, so don’t read into it too much.”

“Sure. Heaven forbid you admit that you want me to behappyor something. The world might end,” he teases, my favorite, sexy smirk appearing. “I’m honestly down for whatever. But considering I’m the clumsiest person ever on ice skates, that’s probably a no.”

“Don’t let Q hear you say that, otherwise that’ll be the first thing he chooses to do when they get back,” I warn with a laugh.

“Speaking of, shouldn’t we wait for the two of them to get back before we go do things?”

I frown, my brows crashing together. “Why? They’re not gonna be back for hours. With traffic, we’d be missing half a day if we did that.”

He frowns right back, cocking his head in confusion atmyconfusion. “Because we’re staying with them and Quinton is your best friend?”

I’m not sure I’m following his point.

“Yeah, but they don’t care. They live here and they both have work, so there’s no reason we can’t go do things without them.” I pause, noticing his frown hasn’t softened at all. “Why do you still look so confused?”

Shaking his head, he murmurs, “I guess I just find your relationship with him kinda different.”

“Because we don’t have to do everything with each other?” I ask. When he nods, I shrug. “We have our own lives, our own interests, live in two different states, and we’re still thick as thieves. There’s nothing wrong with loving someone from a distance just as much as you do up close.”

I can’t help my smile while he waffles with the idea before letting out a sharp laugh. “It’s just wild to me. Like, for the longest time, before all the shit that happened with Phoe, I thought those were just like unicorn friendships.”

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